Protect 1st Amendment of Diane Bukowski

(Partial repost from the Committee to Defend Diane Bukowski and the Freedom of the Press)Michigan Citizen newspaper reporter, Diane Bukowski, continues her fight in court to protect her 1st Amendment right to freedom of the press.

On April 17th, Wayne Co. Circuit Court Judge Michael Hathaway partially granted the prosecutor’s motion to preclude testimony in Ms. Bukowski’s criminal trial that she was acting in her capacity as a reporter during the 11/4/08 high speed chase by Michigan State Troopers that ended with the death of two men.

She faces two false felony charges of “assaulting, battering, wounding, resisting, obstructing or endangering” police while covering the chase. The refusal to recognize her role is outrageous!

Neither of the troopers, John Hetfield and James Wojton, have been charged with the deaths of the victims, James Willingham and Jeffery Frazier, although they violated many MSP vehicle pursuit rules, including conducting the chase in a densely populated area without a siren.The Michigan Citizen is recognized as one of the only Detroit newspapers that covers stories about Black and poor citizens, including issues of police brutality.

Please support this grassroots reporter by attending Friday’s 4/24/09 Press Conference and Rally at 12pm at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in downtown Detroit. Call Wayne Co. Prosecutor, Kym Worthy, and ask her to end this unjust prosecution! (313) 224-5777.

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1 Commenton "Protect 1st Amendment of Diane Bukowski"

I did attend an earlier hearing, did not attend the April 27 – May 1 trial, have not looked at the video, and do not understand the charges, the reason an attorney wished to withdraw, or the outcome. A juror is quoted as saying that the evidence supports the charges. He was on the jury, not I. I feel bad about this